While wall forming systems have been in use for many years, a recent development in this industry is in the use of expanded polystyrene panels as forms for the poured concrete walls. After the concrete has hardened, the panels may be left in place on the walls to serve as permanent insulation or may be stripped off to reveal the exposed concrete.
Upon introduction of this new wall forming system, it was found that it was unnecessary to use small "building blocks" to create the form panels. Rather, larger and larger panels are now being utilized to create the concrete forms. As the panels grew in size, the applicant herein devised a new type of tie, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,109, which had special ends that could be "knocked off" to easily remove the large panels from the walls. While the patented tie has proved successful for its intended purpose, there are various instances where a different kind of tie would be more convenient and useful.
One problem with the previous tie design was in situations where a large four-foot by eight-foot panel is desired to be used as the forming structure. Because the previous ties were designed to fit in slots in the upper or lower edges, it was not possible to insert a tie intermediate the edges in the panel.
Another problem with prior art forming systems was in the use of ties which would retain the insulation panel permanently on the wall. Such systems are not capable of use on those occasions where an exposed concrete surface is desired. In such instances, it was necessary to revert to the older methods of wooden forms which could be removed from the wall, but which left markings on the concrete wall which remained. While the applicant's previous tie design of U.S. Pat. No. 4,765,109 solved many of these problems in the use of its "knock off ends", those ties could not be utilized in any location other than the edges of the panels. Thus, it would be desirable to create a tie having removable and reusable end pieces, for use in intermediate locations on the form panel.
A further problem in the prior art is in the use of walers to support the form panel system. Typically such walers were bulky systems which had to be supported on their own against the wall, and which required a large number of ties and other materials to install and remove. Not only is the time loss considerable, but it is necessary to utilize a large number of materials and tools which must be carried by the construction crew from site to site.
It is therefore a general object of the present invention to provide an improved tie for use with polystyrene panel-type forms on poured concrete walls.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a tie which can be inserted through the intermediate portion of a polystyrene panel form to retain the form panel in position.
A further object is to provide a concrete wall form tie which has removable end pieces for retaining the panel in position.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a concrete form panel tie which has reusable end pieces for retaining the panels in positions.
Yet another object is to provide a form panel tie which will receive a waler system to maintain alignment of the forming panels.
These and other objects of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art.